Rockets choose not to match Parsons offer sheet

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The Rockets knew they would be better with Chandler Parsons than without. They believed, however, they were not good enough to consider their roster complete.

Months after Parsons had been among the keys to the Rockets’ hopes, their captain and perhaps the league’s best bargain, he is none of those things. He is instead the Dallas Mavericks prized free agent acquisition and the symbol of the Rockets’ off-season gone wrong.

A year to the day after the Rockets officially signed Dwight Howard, they chose not to match the offer sheet signed by the player that helped recruit Howard, letting Parsons jump to the Mavericks and a three-year, $46 million contract.

The Rockets chose to let Parsons go to Dallas on Sunday because they believed that with the contracts held by Parsons, Howard and James Harden they would be essentially locked out of other moves, a person with knowledge of the decision said.

They instead opted to take the hit in exchange for the flexibility, with several potential deal-making moves, believing their chances of building a contender would be better with the ability to make other moves.

By letting Parsons go, the Rockets could have up to max cap room (depending on the next salary cap) next summer, and a substantial trade exception this season to position themselves to build in the ways they could not this week and the draft pick from the New Orleans Pelicans set up nearly identically to the pick that brought them James Harden.

Parsons contract also would have been essentially untradeable, taking him out as a potential piece of a trade. He cannot be traded until Jan. 15 and must give his approval for any trade after that next season. Because he can opt out of the contract after two seasons, he would have been unlikely to be sought by a team moving a star player because Parsons would have the ability to leave as a free agent.

The Rockets could have kept Parsons on the final season of his rookie contract, worth just $964,000, but chose to not pick up the option on his contract to maintain the right to match any offer sheet he received.

Shortly after the decision was finalized on Sunday, Parsons tweeted that he had heard from Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.

“Nothing but utmost respect for them, the fans and city of Houston,” Parsons wrote in the tweet. “THANK YOU for your support!

The Rockets are not expected to seek free agency deals with the remaining high-priced restricted free agents such as Greg Monroe and Eric Bledsoe, looking instead to sign players to short-term contracts in order to keep their flexibility for next summer.

With an agreement to bring back Trevor Ariza to play Parsons’ small forward position, the Rockets hoped to immediately upgrade their defense while seeking to develop young starters Terrence Jones and Pat Beverley.

Even with Ariza, however, the loss of Parsons represents a major blow, with the Rockets also dealing Jeremy Lin and finalizing negotiations on the trade of Omer Asik in the name of cap space they had hoped to use on a third-signature star.

The Rockets were determined to improve defensively and the addition of Ariza should be a significant step in that direction. But that is a long way from the moves they had thought they were about to make.

Had the Rockets landed Chris Bosh on Friday, they would have matched the offer to keep Parsons, a person with knowledge of the thinking said, becoming a team widely expected to be in position to join the championship contenders. Instead, they have taken several steps backwards, depending on what moves they put toget her to rebuild.

Parsons’ importance to the Rockets was clear last season. They went 4-4 in the games he missed; 50-34 when he played. Even within games, Kevin McHale preferred to keep Parsons on the floor as much as possible, playing him 37.6 minutes per game, seventh most in the league and just 1.1 minute per game shy of league-leader Carmelo Anthony.

Ariza would mitigate much of the loss, particularly as a catch-and-shoot threat from the 3-point line and would bring a much more disruptive defender. But he does not the well-rounded offensive player Parsons is and after 10 NBA seasons, is not likely to expand his game as a playmaker as Parsons likely will.

He will, however, do that with the Mavericks. The Rockets will hope that all the steps back will give them a running start to get somewhere.